I tried a new tactic of falling back into an overwatch position during firefights. The intent here was to avoid getting shot, while at the same time, giving my soldiers a free shot at approaching enemies. It works well against regular enemies. But it didn't work at all against the Muton.

I did learn one good tactic for a “Retaliation” mission that involves saving civilians. That is to make sure that the soldier approaching the civilians has a shotgun or a sword. And that the squad's sniper, has good line of sight to the civilian being approached. This is so that in the event that the civilian turns out to be a Faceless enemy, the sniper can shoot it, taking a good chunk of hp in the process. While the soldier who approached it, can finish it off with a shotgun or sword.

One other thing I learned is that if I'm taking the time to disorient an enemy, then my focus should be to kill that enemy before the disorient effect wears off. Leaving a disoriented enemy alone to focus on other enemies, usually doesn't work for me. I end up just prolonging the firefight.

One new tactic to try is to equip all squad members with Flash-bang grenades instead of regular grenades. The idea here is to keep annoying enemies subdued. I've already mentioned the Muton. There's also the Sectoid who can do mind control. And the Viper who can grab and hold one of my soldiers hostage.

The drawback to this tactic is that Flash-bang grenades do not damage enemy units. It only lessens their effectiveness in battle. That also means there will be less firepower for the squad. A regular grenade is an area of effect attack with guaranteed 2-3 damage. Most regular or injured enemies can be taken out by a single grenade. So, if I were to try this tactic, I need to be able to quickly take down disoriented units.

This post is Day 66 of my #100DaysToOffload challenge. Visit https://100daystooffload.com to get more info, or to get involved.

Tags: #GameLog #XCOM2 #100DaysToOffload

EVAC / SkyRanger / Aborting Mission

On the Xbox One you can “abort mission” or call for EVAC, by calling the SkyRanger using the R3 button. There are some missions where this will not be available, like when there is already a fixed extraction point. You'll know when this option is available if it shows up on the upper right of the screen. Usually on certain missions, you have to fail an objective for this option to be enabled.

The main reason I've restarted the game in Ironman mode so many times is because I've lost so many soldiers in battle, because I did not call for EVAC, because I didn't know how. Now I do. Just today, I managed to save my highest ranking officer and a couple of other soldiers by calling for EVAC.

Also, dashing will still allow you to EVAC, as long as you end your dash inside the extraction point. I've lost so many soldiers in battle because I didn't know this could be done.

Muton

The Muton can apparently counter-attack a melee attack. I wasn't aware of this until I tried getting my Ranger to take it down with his Slash attack.

The Muton can also do a melee attack with its Bayonet. I lost a Sniper to a Muton because I didn't move him far enough. Fail.

Plated Armor

Plated Armor might be the most important upgrade early on. I originally thought this would only increase my soldier's hit points. Apparently it also increases the number of items they can bring to a fight.

This means that a Grenadier, can equip a grenade (mandatory), plus two utility items. If you equip your Grenadier with a Mindshield and Flashbang Grenade, it will be the ultimate Sectoid killer.

Tags: #XCOM2 #GameLog

One way to break their mind control link, or to stop their reanimated zombies is to kill off the Sectoid.

Another, probably easier way, is to disorient the Sectoid. You can do this by tossing a Flashbang Grenade in their direction. While this won't kill the Sectoid, it disrupts them enough that their mind control ability stops working and their reanimated zombies just die off.

I would like to end this post with a short gameplay clip of this pretty fun tactical game.

Tags: #XCOM2 #GameLog

I'm playing the game in “Normal” difficulty with Ironman mode turned on. Ironman mode for XCOM games means you only get one save file that is auto-saved. This means that if you made a mistake and the game already auto-saved, you cannot load back a previous save file to undo your mistake.

So I was playing this mission where I had to capture a VIP and then get everyone to the extraction point. There were 12 turns allowed before “Forced Retreat” happens. I did not know what “Forced Retreat” meant prior to playing this mission. I've played missions before where you could fail the objective and the game will still allow you to continue fighting until you get to extract the whole team. This was not the case with tonight's mission.

Apparently “Forced Retreat” means that once the countdown reaches 0 turns, the mission ends abruptly. This means that if you had the whole team out in the field when the mission ended, that means you lose the whole team! I lost 2 Sharpshooters, 1 Ranger, 1 Specialist and 1 Grenadier. The 2 Sharpshooters were high ranking officers too.

I now know what “Forced Retreat” means, but it's too late for my campaign. Having lost a lot of good soldiers this way hurts and I don't think I can recover. I actually only have 1 soldier ready for battle back at HQ. Yeah that's not gonna work. I'm going to have to start off a new campaign again. This is what makes Ironman mode such a pain. However if you beat the game in Ironman mode, the ending is glorious.

Tags: #XCOM2 #GameLog